Tom Cole reported the radio piece above. Here, he offers a few of what he considers to be Sandy Denny's best songs.
Sandy Denny's was the voice I heard in my head through most of high school. Something about the music suited me then and still appeals to me. It's music for a grey late afternoon in autumn. When I hear the songs from Liege and Lief today, they call up -- not really memories -- but emotions. A kind of a sense of loss.
While reporting this piece, I asked Richard Thompson if he thought Denny's music was "melancholy."
"I think her music is melancholy to a large extent but I think a lot of British music is especially if you come out of the folk tradition," Thompson said. "You know, if you grow up on a diet of murder ballads and people being carried off by the fairies and all that kind of stuff, you know there's a certain sadness in the music that's actually very appealing. It doesn't necessarily mean you're a sad person; it doesn't mean that you wallow in darkness. It just means that you sing about sad things. And then life goes on."
For some, maybe.
Doing this story was really hard because none of my favorite songs are in the radio piece. The songs that are there are the ones that need to be there to tell the story -- there was no question in my mind they were the ones to use. They just aren't the ones that call up the strongest feelings for me.
But here are five or so from several different albums -- not intended to be comprehensive: I'm sure I've left out your favorites -- just a few of mine:
"I’ll Keep It With Mine" from What We Did On Our Holidays -- Sandy Denny just sings her heart out on this Dylan song. As Richard Thompson put it: "from a whisper to full throttle in the space of a line or two."
"Matty Groves" or "Tam Lin" (I'm already cheating because I can't keep it to five) from Liege and Lief -- These are the classic story songs that keep you hanging on the edge of your seat -- listening hard to find out what's going to happen next. As Linda Thompson said, Denny maintains that tension with her phrasing. At least "Tam Lin" has sort of a happy ending.
"Crazy Man Michael" from Liege and Lief (just listen to the whole album) is a beautifully sad Richard Thompson song (co-credited to Dave Swarbrick). Sandy embodies Thompson's lyrics -- and the character of the title -- in her voice.
"Late November", "John The Gun" , and "North Star Grassman and the Ravens" (cheating again) from North Star Grassman and the Ravens -- Sandy Denny originals -- enigmatic, allegorical, they capture the melancholy.
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